John McCreanney

We recently received last minute instructions to defend a claim brought by Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd (Lowell’s).

The claim was based on an alleged agreement between our Client and HFC Bank Limited which was regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974). The agreement was subsequently assigned to Lowell’s.

Prior to the assignment of the alleged agreement, our Client submitted a request for information pursuant to section 77 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The request was accompanied by a signed cheque for the sum of £1 representing the requisite statutory fee.

If you had a “Together” mortgage/loan from Northern Rock between 1999 and March 2008, you may be entitled to be repaid or re-credited the interest which you paid.

Northern Rock themselves estimate that 41,000 of their customers may be entitled to compensation at a likely cost of £258 million if their appeal against a High Court judgment fails.
Northern Rock has already paid out about £270m in refunded interest payments to customers who borrowed less than £25,000 in personal loans in this way before April 2008, after it was found that the loan documents did not comply with the Consumer Credit Act.
“Together” mortgages enabled borrowers to combine a mortgage with a personal loan of up to £30,000 that in total could be worth more than the property itself.
The High Court handed down judgment in NRAM plc v McAdam and Hartley[2014] EWHC 4174 in December.The proceedings were brought by Northern Rock itself to determine the status of its “Together” mortgage agreements. The agreements in question were made between 1999 and March 2008.

You’re probably fed up of receiving cold calls informing you about your mis sold PPI. It’s impossible to escape the frenzy and this is the reason why many people haven’t even checked to see if they are entitled to make a claim.

The Financial Ombudsman Service estimates that £50bn of PPI policies were sold over the last 10 – 15 years. The approximate bill to the banks so far is £22bn which suggests that there is still a long way to go in this compensation process.

Since 2011, the estimated average monthly payout by the banks is £390m. In 2014 alone, the average monthly payout is £440m. So, whilst many of you might think (and even hope) that the scandal is coming to an end, think again.